<\/p>\n
Evaluating Virtual Learning Communities<\/strong><\/p>\n A fundamental task for educational professionals is to help companies To prepare: <\/strong><\/p>\n Read A Framework for Collaborative Networked Learning in Higher Education: Design & Analysis<\/em>, which explores the framework for planning, designing, and implementing collaborative learning systems. Review Using Social Network Analysis to Understand Sense of Community in an Online Learning Environment<\/em> and the research findings of the unique interaction patterns for students in online courses. Finally, view the media piece, Anatomy of eLearning: Conceptual framework,<\/em> in this module\u2019s Learning Resources with a focus on the \u201cDelivery\u201d (green) section.<\/p>\n Consider the variety of virtual delivery systems, which exist for the By Day 7 of Week 7<\/strong><\/p>\n Post the following:<\/strong><\/p>\n Explain how a strong sense of community can be established and <\/p>\n Here are some examples<\/p>\n As learning As a middle grade As the leader of the References<\/p>\n Issa, G. F., El-Ghalayini, H. A, Shubita, A. F, & Abu-Arqoub, M. H. (2014). A Framework for <\/p>\n Collaborative Networked Learning in Higher Education: Design & Analysis.<\/p>\n International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning<\/i>, 9<\/i>(4), 32\u201337. https:\/\/<\/p>\n doi.org\/10.3991\/ijet.v9i8.3903<\/p>\n Shen, D., & Amelung, C. (2008). Using Social Network Analysis to Understand Sense of <\/p>\n Community in an Online Learning Environment. JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL <\/i><\/p>\n COMPUTING RESEARCH<\/i>, 39<\/i>(1), 17\u201336. <\/p>\n Theodocion, K. (2012). Middle School Educators\u2019 Perceptions of Online Professional<\/p>\n Development. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n At my school, we host an annual conference that seeks to unite the Our solution has been to make use of Web 2.0 tools as a form of Video and Twitter, used as partners in this fashion, can support and The item that is probably most critical here to give our virtual Buoyed by our experiences this year in building a Community of References<\/p>\n Dunlap, J. C., & Lowenthal, P. R. (2009). Tweeting the night away: Using twitter to enhance social presence. Journal of Information Systems Education<\/i>, 20(2), 129-135.<\/p>\n
\nand educational institutions utilize appropriate technologies to run
\ntheir businesses and stay competitive and responsive to the demands of
\ntheir consumers. As a thought leader, this requires you to be familiar
\nwith emerging teaching and learning tools for the delivery of
\ncollaborative courses and training. For this Discussion, you will
\nanalyze the concepts of sense of community<\/em> and collaboration<\/em>
\nin eLearning environments. You will also evaluate virtual delivery
\nsystems to determine which system best suits the needs of a virtual
\nlearning community in your workplace. <\/strong><\/p>\n
\ncreation of learning communities ( e.g., mobile and micro learning,
\nsocial media, massive open online courses, called MOOCs, learning
\nmanagement systems and online learning spaces, virtual worlds, and video
\nconferencing). Research and choose one or more delivery systems that
\nyou believe are best to create a virtual-learning community in your
\nworkplace.<\/p>\n
\nmaintained in an eLearning environment. In addition, contrast the
\nconcepts of a sense of community<\/em> with collaboration<\/em>.
\nExplain why your choice of a virtual delivery system(s) is the best
\ndelivery model for your workplace. Include in your explanation how the
\ndelivery system maximizes access for your audience and how it enhances
\nthe ability of your audience to connect and share a sense of community.
\nDefend your choices from personal experience, a learning theory, and at least one<\/strong> research study (PhD, EdD, and EdS students) or dissertation (PhD and EdD students ); use module resources as applicable.<\/p>\n
\norganizations shift from traditional learning experiences to online
\ncollaborative environments it is vital that the effectiveness of the new
\nmodel be measured. A good measure of effectiveness is student
\nsatisfaction (Issa, El-Ghalayini, Shubita, & Abu-Arqoub, 2014).
\nOnline educators theorize that building community enhances student
\nsatisfaction (Shen & Amelung, 2008). Shen and Amelung (2008)
\nsuggest that a sense of belonging and community can be facilitated by
\nfrequent interactions and information exchanges between students and
\nhigh levels of network density. Network density is a proportion of
\nactual ties to possible ties in a given network (Shen & Amelung,
\n2008). These activities build a strong sense of community in a learning
\nnetwork. There is a difference between collaborative learning and
\nsense of community. Collaboration is seen by researchers as the
\nexchange of information (Issa et al., 2014). While a sense of community
\nis defined as belonging to a group with or without the exchange of
\ninformation (Shen & Amelung, 2008).
The Institute
\nfor Excellence in Education (IEE) is a professional development
\norganization focused on educator professional learning and coaching to
\nimprove the experiences of students. As the Executive Director of IEE, I
\nhave begun to examine possible opportunities to move professional
\ndevelopment to a technological platform. I am overseeing a project to
\ndevelop a middle-grades micro-credential that will provide learning
\nopportunities who seek to deepen their understanding of middle-grades
\npractices. The virtual environment is the correct place for this to
\noccur for many reasons. Traditional universities are closing their
\nmiddle grades programs leaving a gap in the preparation programs for
\nmiddle grades educators. The curriculum to be taught, is consistent
\nacross the globe and does not need to be tailored to a specific region.
\nFinally, the learning experiences can be best implemented in an online
\nenvironment. The micro-credential course enhances the middle-grades
\ncommunity by providing a virtual space for collaboration and belonging.
\nCurrently, there are a few middle school organizations which build
\ncollaboration and belonging through face to face conferences but none
\nthat facilitate learning virtually. <\/p>\n
\neducator, I see the need to continue to offer foundational middle grades
\nconcept content and the virtual platform provides the best approach in
\nthe 21st<\/sup> century. The Social Network Analysis theory
\nsupports this approach as the mirco credential will connect individuals
\nand organizations focused on middle-grades practices. We should be
\naware that teachers will be more successful with this online learning
\nstructure if they are given opportunities to collaborate and support one
\nanother if this is their first experience (Theodocion, 2012).<\/p>\n
\nproject at IEE, understanding the importance of collaboration and a
\nsense of belonging will support the development of a meaningful on line
\nmicro credential course. Understanding the needs of the educators being
\nserved will allow for the creation of learning opportunities that meet
\nthese needs.<\/p>\n
\nbest and the brightest in the field with our students to discuss current
\nissues. We\u2019re not a big name, so it\u2019s not a big conference. We just
\nfinished hosting our third one. And while each conference gets better
\nand attracts more people and more presenters with something interesting
\nto say, it just doesn\u2019t have the reputation yet to entice people to
\nspend a lot of money on registration fees and travel to be a part of
\nthis learning experience. <\/p>\n
\nNetworked Learning to offer a taste of the conference to those who can\u2019t
\nmake it, in keeping with one of our institutional goals to contribute
\nto the generalizable knowledge of the behavioral health field. We
\nbroadcast a select few of the conference sessions via Periscope and then
\nuse Twitter to open up a virtual learning community for dialogue during
\nand after the session. This is offered for free; anyone can view and
\njoin the conversation. In terms of logistics, it\u2019s usually a team of
\nstaff members. One broadcasts the presentation via cell phone to
\nPeriscope and another monitors the Periscope comments and Twitter
\nconversation. The Periscope comments, because they\u2019re open to anyone,
\ndo not always further the dialogue, shall we say , so it is the job of the staff member to sift the wheat from the chaff and pass it on to the presenter.<\/p>\n
\nbuild a collaborative community of inquiry as it is so much more than
\nmere transmission of information. It has the potential to create all
\nthree of the presences needed for a Community of Inquiry \u2013 social,
\ncognitive, and teaching (Garrison, 2007). In terms of social presence,
\nPeriscope + Twitter fills the gap for people who cannot attend the
\nconference in person and connects them to each other. As a teaching
\npresence, it encourages more informal conversation where individual
\nquestions can be asked \u2013 and answered \u2013 by a multitude of people
\n(Dunlap and Lowenthal, 2009). One of the strategies we use to build
\ncognitive presence during the presentation for our participants, both in
\nperson and virtually, is to have a faculty member in the audience who
\nposes open-ended questions that we post to Twitter to get the
\nconversation rolling about something the presenter has said, and then we
\nfunnel responses back to the presenter to address live. We have had
\ngreat luck partnering this with unique hashtags to provide targeted
\nopportunities to exchange ideas. After it\u2019s all over, we are able to
\nuse a content creation tool to cull together a record of the event with
\nvideo (we usually have a second camera running to create a better
\nvideo), the presenter\u2019s slides, and a summary of the Twitter
\nconversation, for an asynchronous resource.<\/p>\n
\nparticipants a sense of community is the interaction with the presenter
\nand those who attend in person. Shen has noted a similar result \u2013 that
\ninteraction is strongly associated with a student\u2019s sense of community
\nin online environments (2008). Building a learning community via these
\nsessions is much more than just pointing a camera at the speaker so
\nothers can watch. We want our virtual attendees to be able to participate<\/i>.
\nOne session that we Periscoped had planned breakout conversations
\nwhere the presenter would pose a question, ask people to converse in
\nsmall groups, and then report back. Our Periscope camera person and
\ncomment monitor sat in on one of those breakouts so the Twitterverse
\ncould also participate, and then the comment monitor reported back to
\nthe in-person attendees on behalf of the remote contributors. This not
\nonly build community; it created a sense of collaboration for our remote
\nviewers as well. That was pretty cool.<\/p>\n
\nInquiry via social media tools, we\u2019re contemplating making our
\nconference next year entirely virtual. We will still Periscope +
\nTwitter a few of the sessions, but most of them would be available by
\nregistration only through Zoom, an interactive web conferencing
\ntechnology that allows us to manage the registration process and control
\naccess pretty easily. We\u2019re still thinking that all through but we
\nare excited by the potential of these tools to create a virtual learning
\nexperience with a sense of community and collaboration for the
\nbehavioral health field.<\/p>\n